Preamble

We, the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice….

Okay, it’s not THE Preamble. It’s a preamble before I ramble. Think of it as a preramble. Yes, I know there’s  no such word, but stay with me here.

Here’s what you need to know about our privacy policy: We operate under “Vegas Rules.” For those of you who don’t know what this means, let me explain. It means what you say to the DeMott Law Firm stays in the DeMott Law Firm. Unlike Corporate America, we don’t collect your information and sell it to any Tom, Dick and Harry. In fact, we won’t even sell it to John, Paul, George or Ringo–or anyone else for that matter. And we won’t contact you unless you first contact us. If you ask us a question or tell us you want help, don’t be surprised if we respond. Most folks like it that way. (And, yes, I know John and George are not with us anymore, but I’m trying to make a point. Let’s not get too technical. All the technical stuff will follow below in spades.)

Privacy policies abound because Corporate America bought off Congress. Instead of laws which prohibit your information from being sold, they bought laws which basically say that most anything can be sold, as long as the consumer is told the information is is being sold and has certain “opt out” policies which consumers almost never read and don’t understand even if they do read them. Studies show that when consumers see a “privacy policy” they assume their information won’t be sold to third parties. This is dead wrong, but what most companies want consumers to think. And this is a really dumb way to address consumer privacy issues, but it’s what you get when you have a rigged system which allows Congress to be bought off by special interests.

Don’t get me started.

All the technical stuff follows. Read it if you wish. My remarks (yes, I have more to say) are in italics.

The Actual Privacy Policy

Your privacy is important to us. This notice explains our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is used at our site.

The Information We Collect

We do not collect personally identifiable information about you (such as your name, address, telephone number, fax number, e-mail address, etc.) unless you choose to fill out a “Contact Us” form, found on many of the pages of the site or to email us directly. As noted in my preramble, if you contact us, we’ll contact you back ONE time. We do not keep your information to market our services to you.

We do automatically collect certain non-personally identifiable information when you visit our site such as the type of browser you are using, the type of operating system you are using, and the domain name of your Internet service provider (e.g., Time Warner Cable, Comcast). This may sound impressive, but anyone, including my small law firm, can sign up for Google Analytics. With this free service, we can tell how many visitors we get from Hilton Head, South Carolina, or Fargo, North Dakota. However, if you’re from Hilton Head, I do not know your address, phone number, or IP address (that’s the unique address of your computer.) The same goes for Fargo, except if you’re in Fargo, I know you are probably very cold in the winter–brrrr! I can also tell how many people use Firefox or Chrome as web browsers, but I don’t really care.

How We Normally Use Information About You

We use non-personally identifiable information to analyze site usage (such as aggregated information on the pages visited by our users), which allows us to improve the design and content of our site.

We use personally identifiable information you provide solely to respond to your inquiry.

We will not contact you about other matters, unless you specifically request it, nor will we share, rent, or sell your personally identifiable information outside the DeMott Law Firm, P.A. See Vegas rules above.

We cannot guarantee the privacy of personal information you transmit over the web or that may be collectable in transit by others, including contractors who provide services to us. You should understand that communication over the internet is not secure. It’s possible for email to be intercepted. I suspect this is more of a theoretical problem than a real problem, but this is a risk you are assuming. If you want a better explanation of this, look elsewhere.

Collection of Information by Third-Party Sites and Sponsors

Our site contains links to other sites whose information practices may be different than ours. Visitors should consult the other sites’ privacy notices as we have no control over information that is submitted to, or collected by, these third parties. We’re not responsible for content on other sites. I’m sure you could figure this out on your own, but we just want to be crystal clear about this in case someone out there is crazy enough to think otherwise.

Cookies

A cookie is a text-only string of information that a website transfers to the cookie file of the browser on your computer’s hard disk so that the website can remember who you are. A cookie will typically contain the name of the domain from which the cookie has come, the “lifetime” of the cookie, and a value, usually a randomly generated unique number.

When you visit our website we send you a cookie. Cookies may be used in the following ways:

To enable the personalization features on our website (which give you the ability to recall recently viewed pages and see information which you have input on line).

To compile anonymous, aggregated statistics that allow us to understand how users use our site and to help us improve the structure of our website. We cannot identify you personally in this way.

Two types of cookies may be used on this website, session cookies, which are temporary cookies that remain in the cookie file of your browser until you leave the site, and persistent cookies, which remain in the cookie file of your browser for much longer (though how long will depend on the lifetime of the specific cookie).

I don’t think we use cookies, other than the kind I eat. But in case we do, now your desire to know about this issue is addressed above. I do know that we have no way of learning any personal information about you when you use this site unless you provide it. My favorite cookies are oatmeal raisin, so if you like to bake, please don’t forget this.

Disabling/Enabling Cookies

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies by modifying the settings in your browser. However, you may not be able to use all the interactive features of our site if cookies are disabled. I think our site will work fine if you disable cookies. I don’t care if you disable them or not. I do want to point out that I like oatmeal raisin cookies. I know I said that once before, but it’s important for you to remember that.

Opt-Out Policy

We don’t really have an opt-out policy because–and this should be clear by now–we don’t opt you in automatically like Corporate America does. If you begin communicating with us and want to stop communicating with us, you have that right. Just say, “I don’t want to communicate with you anymore!” and we’ll be sure to leave you alone. Any information you provided will still be held in confidence. If you subscribe to our blog updates (see the home page to do this) and later don’t want to get blog posts from us, you’ll be allowed to stop the posts from coming by unsubscribing. All you need to do is click the unsubscribe button at the bottom of the blog post “feed.” The fine folks at Google wanted me to put an Opt-Out Policy on this site as a requirement to participate in their Adwords program, so I hope they like this.

Our Commitment to Security

We employ security measures to prevent unauthorized access to information that we collect online. However, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information.

Revisions to our Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to revise this policy or any part of it from time to time. Please review the policy periodically for changes. Honestly, I can’t imagine anyone checking to see if our privacy policy has been updated, but if your really into privacy policies, please check back again. And don’t forget the cookies–oatmeal raisin, that is.

Terms of Use

Welcome to the firm website for the DeMott Law Firm, P.A. The Terms and Conditions for use of this site are written below. Please read them carefully. By using this site, you acknowledge that you both have read and accept these terms and conditions. If you do not agree with these terms and conditions, do not use this site.

The information contained on this web site presents general information about the firm and its lawyers and is not intended to constitute legal advice. Any person viewing or receiving information from this web site should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any such information without first seeking appropriate legal advice from an attorney. And, by the way, if you ARE in Fargo, shivering, cold, bored, and somehow reading this stuff, keep this in mind: YOU NEED TO HIRE AN ATTORNEY LICENSED IN YOUR STATE! The law is very different from state to state.

We invite you to contact us and welcome your calls, letters, and email. Please realize that merely contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Therefore, please refrain from sending any confidential information to us until such time as an attorney-client relationship has been established. Again, we play by Vegas rules, but email is not a totally secure way to communicate. An attorney-client relationship can only be created by a written, signed-fee agreement entered into with an attorney. We enter into written fee agreements with ALL our clients in ALL matters. Don’t hire a lawyer who doesn’t.

The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience.

IRS CIRCULAR 230 NOTICE: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any U.S. tax advice contained in a client alert is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed in a client alert. Ah, how could I forget this one? This “notice” started getting slathered all over firm websites and email signatures around 2005 thanks to the IRS in circular 230. (“We’re from the government and here to help!”) This page just wouldn’t be right without it. I will say this: I took federal income taxation in 1993 in law school. I got an A, but remember, that was in 1993! I don’t even do my own taxes! The Tax Code is so complicated, the IRS doesn’t even understand it. If you need tax advice, see a qualified tax preparer, CPA, or tax lawyer. With the right tax pro in your corner, you might have a shot at figuring it out.

South Carolina Rule of Professional Conduct 7.1 Notice

Notice Required by South Carolina Rule of Professional Conduct 7.1 : “Any result the endorsed lawyer or law firm may achieve on behalf of one client in one matter does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.” As they say with mutual funds, “past performance does not guarantee future results.”

Disclaimer

This website has been prepared solely for the purpose of providing information about bankruptcy law and the DeMott Law Firm, P.A. and the services it offers. This information has been compiled in good faith by the DeMott Law Firm, P.A. However, no representation is made as to the completeness or accuracy of the information it contains. In particular, you should be aware that this information may be incomplete, may contain errors or may have become out of date. As hard as it is to imagine, we’re not perfect. And although we’ve done our best to be as accurate as possible, we’re not perfect. Did I mention that we’re not perfect?

The DeMott Law Firm, P.A. reserves the right to add, modify or delete any information at this website at any time. This site and any references to services are provided “AS IS” without any warranty, express or implied. This means you get the same warranty as a guy buying an old Buick–none. If you want a warranty, buy a new Buick!

Nothing contained within this website should be construed as legal advice, or as establishing an attorney-client relationship. We are not your lawyers unless we agree to represent you by entering in to a written contract.

How to Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about the privacy policy for the DeMott Law Firm, P.A., its implementation, or any other contents of this website, you may contact the following attorney who is responsible for its content:

Russell A. DeMott, Esq., DeMott Law Firm, P.A., 300 N. Cedar Street, Suite A, Summerville, South Carolina 29483.

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